Tesla Motors, China Unicom to build car charging outlets across China

U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Motors (TSLA.O) said on Friday that it would partner with China's No.2 mobile carrier China Unicom (0762.HK) to build charging outlets across the country to push sales in the world's biggest auto market.

The companies have signed a deal to build charging posts at 400 China Unicom stores in 120 cities, and will also set up super-charging outlets in 20 Chinese cities, Tesla's China spokeswoman Peggy Yang said.

Tesla's billionaire co-founder Elon Musk has said he expects to invest hundreds of millions of dollars building charging outlets in China as the company seeks to compete more effectively with foreign rivals such as BMW (BMWG.DE) and Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) and address Chinese customers' complaints about belated product delivery.

"The deal represents our biggest investment so far in charging facilities in China," Yang said in a telephone interview.

Palo Alto, California-based Tesla is barred by Chinese rules from making cars in China unless it forms a joint venture with a local automaker.

Tesla, which makes cars in a factory in the San Francisco suburb of Fremont which once produced about 400,000 cars a year for Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and General Motors (GM.N) when the plant was owned and operated by the two Auto giants, is still interested in making cars in China independently, according to a China executive of Tesla who declined to be identified.

But that is unlikely in the foreseeable future unless China changes its current policy, he said.